Reviews of Earl Sweatshirt, No Age, Ty Segall, Braids and DIANA Lead This Week's New Release Roundup

We here at Exclaim! know the start of the work week can be a total drag. But instead of falling behind in the rat race, why not cheer yourself up by running over to your local record store and picking up one of this week's newest releases? There's a heap of marquee titles out this week, so to help you on your way, we've taken a good hard look at some of them below. When you're read up, don't forget to visit our Recently Reviewed section for reviews on even more new albums.

First off, hyped-up hip-hop prodigy Earl Sweatshirt leaves behind the rape-referencing raps of his youth in favour of intricate and nuanced wordplay on his first full-length, Doris. But is his debut LP everything we've been hoping for from the acclaimed Odd Future member? Read on to find out.

Next, L.A.'s favourite weirdo rippers No Age adopt a minimalist palette for the stripped-back An Object, while Ty Segall calms down for the mostly acoustic Sleeper.

Canadian shoegazers Braids offer a far cry from their Polaris-nominated debut with the electronic inspired Flourish//Perish, and jazz-trained synth-pop outfit DIANA deliver nagging brilliance on the quietly explosive Perpetual Surrender.

Michigan-based producer Shigeto (a.k.a. Zach Saginaw) moves further towards the Four Tet/Bonobo end of the downtempo spectrum on the jazz-minded No Better Time Than Now, while A$AP Ferg blends two decades' worth of rap together on the Three 6 Mafia- and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony-inspired Trap Lord.

Finally, Arcade Fire's Sarah Neufeld steps into the spotlight on the sonically sumptuous Hero Brother. But is the solo violinist's debut LP a musical victory? You'll have to click through to know.

Hear some of our favourite songs from these albums and more in our Rdio Genre Playlists: